Creole Fried Chicken

Why this recipe works:

Creole fried chicken recipes should turn out meat that is deeply seasoned with the complex, lively heat of black, white, and cayenne pepper. Soaking the chicken in a brine of salt, sugar, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco sauce seasoned the chicken down to the bone. We built… read more

Creole fried chicken recipes should turn out meat that is deeply seasoned with the complex, lively heat of black, white, and cayenne pepper. Soaking the chicken in a brine of salt, sugar, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco sauce seasoned the chicken down to the bone. We built depth of flavor in our Creole Fried Chicken with a three-step approach: After brining, a sprinkling of our Creole seasoning on raw chicken added flavor without the dusty saltiness of packaged spice blends; the seasoning also lent a potent punch to the chicken’s flour coating; and for a peppery finish, we sprinkled the hot chicken with more seasoning when it came out of the oil. Before frying, we rolled the chicken pieces in the seasoned flour not once, but twice—the extra coating produced a crisp, substantial, craggy crust. Using a clip-on candy/deep-fry thermometer to monitor the temperature of the oil before we started and while the chicken was cooking ensured the oil was always at the correct temperature.

Serves 4 to 6

To ensure even cooking, breasts should be halved crosswise and leg quarters separated into thighs and drumsticks. We prefer the brash flavor of Louisiana’s own Tabasco sauce in this recipe, but any hot sauce will work. In step 1, do not soak the chicken longer than 8 hours, or it will be too salty.

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